Do You Know Florida Hockey?

Admit it. If I told you there were two professional hockey teams in Florida, would you be able to name them? Even if you can, could you even name a player from each team? I’m going to go with no. If you could answer both of those questions, I won’t make you read any further. This article is for hockey newbies.

This man is old enough to be all of our fathers.

Florida Panthers:

Location: Sunrise, FL (near Miami)

Founded: 1993

Arena: BB&T Center

Last year’s record: 47-26-9 (that 9 is not for a tie; it is 1 point for an overtime loss), 3rd in the Eastern Conference

Player to note: Jaromir Jagr. This guy has been in the league TWENTY TWO years. And he led the team in points last year. He started his career in 1990. Think about that. This guy is a legend.

Quick like lightning.

Tampa Bay Lightning:

Location: Tampa, FL (duh)

Founded: 1992

Arena: Amalie Arena

Last year’s record: 46-31-5, 6th in the Eastern Conference

Player to note: Steven Stamkos. He was a first overall pick in the 2008 NHL draft and has been the cornerstone of the franchise in recent years. He wears the number 91 (higher numbers are more common in hockey) and used to have an advertisement in the Avenues mall for Tissot.

Sure, this is just a short snippet of Florida hockey. This is just basic trivia for a first time viewer. But hey, I don’t want to overwhelm you. If you want to learn more, tune into Fox Sports Sun (formerly Sun Sports) to catch a Lightning game or Fox Sports Florida to watch the Panthers.